


Things left unsaid

by judithandronicus



Series: Judith's Fluffy Kinktober 2020 [8]
Category: Leverage
Genre: Cotton Candy (Food), Cotton Candy Fluff, Flufftober, Flufftober 2020, Hugs, Multi, OT3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:00:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27351595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/judithandronicus/pseuds/judithandronicus
Summary: Please, I need you both.Eliot doesn’t say it.--Eliot comes home, battered and beaten, and the three have a fluffy moment. My belated, final Flufftober thing.
Relationships: Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer
Series: Judith's Fluffy Kinktober 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951795
Comments: 19
Kudos: 98





	Things left unsaid

_I need you._

Eliot limps his way to the door, rests his forehead against the doorjamb. It’s a mess, long strands of chestnut hair plastered to his skin, tacky with drying sweat. He stands there, shoulders heaving, his heart pounding against the inside of his ribcage. Just a few more moments, he tells himself, to let his heart rate relax, to get his breathing under control. To gather his wits about him, to get his game face on. Count to five; take a deep breath in; furrow the muscles of his forehead into his standard mask, letting righteous fury wash away the tremble from his lower lip, letting the growl take over the waver in his voice as his tongue catches in his throat from an unholy communion of exhaustion and worry.

_Please, I need you both._

Eliot doesn’t say it.

Before he can rap scraped knuckles against the door, before bruised, aching hands can fumble in his pockets for the key, the door opens. Backlit against the golden light of the room, that flickering warmth from the fireplace, she stands, tall and strong and delicate and beautiful.

Parker threads nimble fingers through Eliot’s and squeezes his hand, her powerful, calloused grip beautifully incongruous to that slender, porcelain pale hand. She rocks up onto her tiptoes and presses her lips to his cheek.

“Hey.” She grins at him, those blue eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief. “We’re gonna make cotton candy. Wanna help?”

“Cotton ca—Hardison!” He’s not angry, not really. Not when she’s looking at him like _that_ , bouncing on the balls of her feet, too excited to stand still for even a moment. God, she’s beautiful. Eliot can’t help but smile, small and knowing, as she tugs him through the apartment.

“Don’t you _Hardison_ me,” Alec complains, too busy rummaging through the kitchen cabinets to even look Eliot’s way. “You know she don’t play fair. I’d like to see you do any better.” When he turns to face them, Alec’s arms are laden with supplies: a stack of rolled paper wands and two tubs of sugar—the bright turquoise bubble-gum flavored kind Eliot had made especially for Parker, as well as the regular stuff—and part of the candy machine Nate had gotten them as a housewarming gift. “Will one of y’all get the bottom of the the machine?”

Eliot gives the tiniest shake of his head, then pulls the base from the appliance cabinet. Immediately, he switches into kitchen work-mode, washing his hands before starting to set up the machine. As he attaches the plastic tub to the base, he feels himself going into that meditative headspace that comes so readily in the kitchen.

_Mise-en-place._

Eliot portions out the sugar: two scoops of turquoise for Parker, one plain with a dash of vanilla for Hardison. He pours the first serving (Parker’s, of course) into the center reservoir and then clicks the machine to “on.” It buzzes to life with a metallic rattle, and soon fills the room with acrackling heat. As the basin of the machine spins, Eliot steps back from the island, arms crossed in front of his chest in satisfaction. Parker’s watching the machine with unabashed glee, and Alec…well, Alec’s watching Parker with a similarly gleeful grin. Hell, if he stops to think about it, Eliot considers, chuckling softly, he’s probably got the same damn look on his face as he watches the two of them.

“Yay!” Parker’s delight is palpable as she starts to gather pale strands of candy floss, winding her paper cone in large circles. When the output starts to wane, Eliot moves as if on autopilot, wrapping an arm around her waist while he feeds the rest of the turquoise sugar into the heated metal center. She leans into it, her head resting firm on his chest. His heart speeds up, just knowing that she’s there against him, touching him, solid and warm, her ear pressed up to his sternum so that she can most certainly hear— _feel,_ even—the thumping of his heart, beating faster now that she’s so close. It’s too much, he thinks, to be _this_ close to someone, trusting them enough to be like this, _this close_ , and he doesn’t even realize his breathing has gotten quicker, shallower. That it’s coming in ragged gulps.

No, not until he feels that warmth along his back, snaking around his own waist. When Alec slots himself seamlessly into their embrace, Eliot feels something in his chest unclench, sighs out the breath he doesn’t realize he’s been fighting to keep in.

“That’s it,” Alec croons, his lips soft against the shell of Eliot’s ear, “you’re here; you’re with _us_ ; we got you, baby.” Eliot’s eyes flutter closed as he lets his head drop back to rest on the muscular slope of Alec’s shoulder, then turns to nuzzle his face into that sensitive spot where neck meets shoulder. Eliot breathes him in, lets himself be held nand comforted and wants this moment to last forever.

Eliot Spencer, nestled in between the two most beautiful people he’s ever known, the people that comprise his whole entire world, his sun and moon. He’d kill for them. He’d die for them. And yet, he can’t bring himself to say it.

“I…” his voice breaks off, and they just snuggle in closer, Parker pressing delicate kisses along the column of his throat as Alec nuzzles his nose against Eliot’s temple.

“We know,” she tells him. “We need you, too.”


End file.
